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 Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:28 pm
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With her most recent litter mostly grown, Aysu was back to having free time. It was probably a surprise to everybody (her brothers) when she didn't immediately disappear to the borders and return with a third belly full of cubs (stupid brothers). But she was happy to spend it around the pride, keeping busy in her own ways. She liked having more time to check in on her older offspring, which was how a nice walk had been diverted in the direction of the pair walking along the edge of the water
"Definitely Lailah," she muttered, squinting and trying to figure out who she was with as she walked closer and closer.
"Looks like someone from my side," Uthuli commented, judging by the familiar brown color of the second figure. The closer they got, the more apparent it became that it had to be one of the princes, but he couldn't yet tell which one.
"Are you sure they wouldn't prefer to be left alone?"
A father himself, Uthuli was still tied down by his girls, but he managed enough free time and it wasn't uncommon for him to spend it with Aysu. He wasn't nearly as nosy as she was, though he was starting to understand it more the older his girls got. For now, he could really only roll his eyes as Aysu stubbornly continued.
"Oh shush."
Aysu wasn't going to be deterred. She realized he was right, though, it was one of his cousins. A prince. She shouldn't have been surprised, her eldest were members of the high class, they were more likely to make friends in the higher classes because of it. Especially Lailah. Putting on a smile, she picked up the pace for the last bit of the walk up to interrupt the two of them. Coming from an odd angle, they got into earshot without being noticed.
"Good day!"
He sighed again, continuing at his comfortable pace even when Aysu went ahead. But he he still followed. |
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:32 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:37 pm
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:47 pm
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It took a great deal of practice not to take this kind of reaction too personally. She seemed so far removed from her oldest daughter's life, from the very beginning she was a necessary apprentice to a new shaman and that took up so much of her time.. and then when the new cubs arrived, there was tension there. But Aysu would never let it bother her. Her eyes were on Yavin as he awkwardly stepped aside. Her smile widened and she looked back to Lailah.
"Lailah," she greeted her daughter, glancing back to Yavin, "And, ah.."
Once the conversation began and everybody came to a stop, Uthuli had an easy time catching up. He came to a stop just as Aysu was attempting to greet the two of them.
"Yavin," he muttered to Aysu, helping her along. The prince didn't look like he recognized his cousin, but Uthuli could hardly blame him for that. Their family situation was a tad awkward, Selene was really the only one who seemed to go out of her way to visit with and be friendly with all of them.. and she had a lot to gain by being close to her uncle. To everybody else, no doubt, they were just low class background family.
"Right, Yavin."
She didn't stop smiling, or even seem to acknowledge Uthuli otherwise. She was grateful for his help but her attention was on the pair before her- and her mind certainly wandered where Lailah did not want it.
"I was just out for a walk and I thought I saw you," she explained brightly.
Uthuli put on a smile and stood passively by, trying to blend into the background. So far he didn't really have very much to say. It was an interesting sight to behold, the Shaman's apprentice and the prince like this.
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Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2012 4:54 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:52 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 1:36 pm
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Lailah K'chol had always been Aysu's problem child, and it was for no reason anybody could help. It was pure chance that landed her first litter in the high class but the timing meant more than just freedom for the cubs. For Lailah, it meant she was bound to a rank that magnified class differences in the family and offered influences her mother couldn't control, prevent or argue with.
It hurt more than it showed but Aysu kept smiling.
"They're grown up enough," she responded, her tone pleasant but not entirely covering her annoyance, "They don't need supervision."
Not from their mother, anyway, but that was another issue entirely.
Well, this was indeed very awkward. Uthuli wasn't surprised by Lailah's tone of voice, he had daughters, they argued, it all seemed normal enough. He didn't know if this was normal for them, but he was definitely sure this wasn't his place to argue.
He was surprised by Yavin's gruff attempt to excuse himself from the group.
Aysu, too, was surprised by the prince. She turned her attention to him, staring perhaps a few seconds too long as she compared the reception by the two younger lions.
"Well, well," she said, glancing back to Lailah, "Quite the pair you two make."
Silent but curious, Uthuli glanced back and forth between Lailah and Yavin wonderingly. Was Aysu suggesting she suspected they were a couple, would make a good couple or .. what? It seemed highly unlikely she would comment on a friendship, there was something more in what she said for sure.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:00 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 2:37 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 3:20 pm
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Aysu could have laughed when Lailah physically stopped the prince from departing, but her stubborn smile was probably pushing it just enough, she didn't need to shove her daughter right over the edge. Not with a laugh anyway.
"I'm not talking in code," she said, looking back to Yavin, "Though I'm not so sure about Lailah."
What a strange simile.
So far Uthuli's presence was entirely useless, though he was gaining some insight into Aysu and her family. Insight he didn't get from the simpler interactions. It was getting more and more awkward by the second so he decided to get it over with.
"Are you two a couple?" he asked, his tone neutral and his face carefully composed, "It's been a while since any shaman has had cubs let alone get married, in fact, I don't remember any stories where the shaman or apprentice had their own families."
Uthuli was lucky to have someone so knowledgeable in the pride's history as his father, he knew a great deal more than he might have otherwise.
Aysu barely held back a snort of laughter at Uthuli's directness. This seemed very out of character for him and she put her full attention on him as he rambled on about the historic patterns in the personal lives of the highest ranked priests.
Well, they did avoid responding to her comment. Maybe this would push them along, especially if the prince wasn't getting it. So she looked back at them expectantly.
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 5:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:33 am
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 1:20 pm
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